A2 shareholder Freedom Foods buys $589k of shares

Sept. 5
(BusinessDesk) - ASX-listed Freedom Foods Group bought
almost one million shares of A2 Milk Co this week for about
$589,000 after its stake was diluted in the past year due to
the issue of partly-paid shares.

The Sydney-based food
company bought 942,500 shares in four transactions in A2
this week at an average price of about 62.5 cents, according
to a substantial shareholder notice filed to the NZX.
Freedom Foods holds about 117.9 million shares, or 17.9
percent of A2, leaving it as the biggest shareholder in the
milk marketing company.

Because A2 issued partly-paid
shares to executives earlier this year, Freedom Foods' stake
was diluted down from 18.1 percent when it made its last
disclosure in December 2012.

Shares of A2 rose 1.6 percent
to 63 cents today, and have dropped 23 percent this year.
The stock is rated an average 'buy' based on four analyst
recommendations compiled by Reuters, with a median target
price of 80 cents.

Last month A2 reported a slump in
annual profit to $10,000, even as sales rose 17 percent to
$111 million, as a strong kiwi dollar eroded the value of
revenue and earnings.

In its Aug. 29 results announcement,
Freedom Foods said it intends to keep a strategic stake in
A2 in the medium-term, while keeping the option to "realise
capital from the investment to support growth
opportunities."

Freedom Foods said A2 offers "potentially
significant value creation" through the milk marketing
firm's growth in Australia and international
markets.

Shares of Freedom Foods rose 3.7 percent to
A$3.12 on the ASX yesterday, and have climbed 13 percent
this
year.

The Wellington-based BusinessDesk team led by former Bloomberg Asian top editor Jonathan Underhill and Qantas Award-winning journalist and commentator Pattrick Smellie provides a daily news feed for a serious business audience.

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